Trading Partners

BEAVER, Pa. - Green onions were the likely source of a hepatitis A outbreak at a Chi-Chi's restaurant in western Pennsylvania that has killed three people and sickened at least 575, state health officials announced today. However, the origin of those onions and how they were tainted is still uncertain.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it was considering requiring food companies to list nutrition information in its entirety, rather than by serving size, on packaged-food labels to help address the U.S. obesity epidemic, Reuters reports.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Rick Thorne, chairman and c.e.o. for Tree of Life, Inc. and executive board member of Koninklijke Wessanen, has announced he will retire following the selection and transition of his successor.

BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons, Inc. has named Duncan MacNaughton its new group v.p., grocery merchandising. In his new post, MacNaughton will lead Albertsons' efforts in key center store categories, including grocery, dairy, and frozen, and will also oversee Beer/Wine/Liquor as well as the company's growing fuel center operations.

Megaretailers are increasingly turning to custom-made national brands and promotions to differentiate themselves from the competition.

In its 15 years of existence, category management has become indispensable to the industry, yet its glory days may still lie ahead. Experts in a 'virtual roundtable' assembled by Progressive Grocer analyze the current state of the art and look to its future.

Pathmark c.i.o. Bob Schoening is building his support system from the ground up to shorten data gathering and make more time for category management.

As perishables become an increasingly important part of the supermarket mix, so will category management, but some major obstacles must be overcome first.